Football Forever rates the players as Jose Mourinho's strolled to a comprehensive victory on Sunday
Real Madrid CFIker Casillas187155.5Produced one fine save to keep out a vicious curler from Coutinho, but was otherwise a spectator in the Madrid goal.Ricardo Carvalho125785.0One poor backpass almost let in Alvaro Vazquez and the Portuguese defender also picked up a booking. Still looks off the pace and was replaced at the break by Varane.Sergio Ramos236147.0Solid as he has been lately, but was hardly needed as Madrid dominated. Made one excellent clearance with a diving header in his box just before half-time. Kept Madrid organised in the absence of Pepe.Marcelo201236.5Left with little to do defensively, the Brazilian operated almost as an extra winger down the left and was quick to feed possession to Cristiano Ronaldo. Some good runs and one or two dangerous crosses, but missing the final ball.Arbeloa164306.0Given some problems by the pace of Alvaro early on, but was solid as per usual and supported his team-mates with some positive runs down the right flank. Set up Higuain for one decent opening.Sami Khedira297287.5Outstanding in central midfield as he and Xabi controlled possession in the center of the park. Also bagged his first league goal for Madrid with a lovely low finish for 2-0 in a move in which he had earlier participated. Good passing as well.Mesut Özil371347.5Another excellent display from the German, who played his part in Cristiano Ronaldo's opener and assisted Khedira for the second. Also set up Higuain for a wonderful chance and could have scored himself. A constant danger before he was replaced after 69 minutes by Callejon.Xabi Alonso208306.5Good passing and defensive work from the Basque midfielder, although his performance was more steady than stand-out. Great partnership with Khedira and did very little wrong.Kaká667448.5A vintage showing from the Brazilian, who made some wonderful runs down the channels, scored a fine goal and created two more for Higuain. Could have scored earlier in the game as well, when he saw his fierce drive saved by Casilla.Cristiano Ronaldo355877.0Put Madrid ahead with a fine finish as he slid a slow shot into the corner from an awkward standing position and played a part in the second as well. Set up Higuain for a wonderful chance which the Argentine should have buried and missed a good chance himself late on. Participative and constantly dangerous, he now has 30 Liga goals.Gonzalo Higuaín
Top of the Match448558.5Has been off form of late and it looked as if his woes would continue as he missed two wonderful chances, but he perservered and was rewarded with two goals of his own as well as two assists - one for Ronaldo and one for Kaka. A geat way to answer his critics.• SubstitutionsRaphaël Varane260197.0Came on in the second half, gave away one free-kick in a dangerous area but slotted in seamlessly alongside Ramos.Callejón135265.5Came on for the last 20 minutes against his former club but didn't have much of an impression despite his enthusiasm.Morata226197.0The youngster came on for the last 10 minutes after the crowd had called for his introduction. And he almost scored close to the end as Casillas denied him with a fine save.
EspanyolKiko Casilla62137.0Made wonderful saves to deny Kaka, Higuain and Morata, but was on a hiding to nothing as his side defended woefully. Let in five, but he wasn't at fault for those and without him, Espanyol would have been beaten by a far greater scoreline.Raúl Rodríguez7204.5Did well to cut out a Khedira cross after 21 minutes, but gifted the ball to Madrid as the locals went a goal up and was caught out of position on several occasions. Very disappointing.Héctor Alfredo Moreno6165.0Did better than his central defensive partner and did well to force Kaka wide on one occasion when the Brazilian looked likely to score, but was ultimately unable to cope with Madrid's pace on the break and was left exposed at the back.Juan Daniel Forlín5155.0His role was to protect the back four, and he found himself playing as an extra defender at times. But even then, Madrid found their way through at will. Put in a shift defensively, but wasn't able to bring the ball out of defence to start any attacks for the visitors.Dídac Vilà11165.5Usually a threat going forward but was largely restricted in this game because Espanyol were very much on the back foot. Given a torrid time by Kaka, Ozil and Higuain, but was better of the two full-backs and used his pace to get him out of trouble on many occasions.Álvaro6135.5Looked lively early on and almost latched onto a poor Carvalho backpass in the first half. Showed signs that he may be a threat with his pace but faded and was replaced at the interval, perhaps due to an injury.Verdú7135.5Usually the creative fulcrum in midfield for Espanyol, Verdu wasn't given enough time on the ball and spent most of the evening on the back foot. Some decent distribution but didn't see enough of the possession.Romaric5145.0Tried his luck with a long-range effort early on which he dragged well wide. Made a good interception to dispossess Kaka outside the box but gave away several free-kicks in dangerous areas around the area. Not much oif a threat at the other end.Javier López Rodríguez
Flop of the Match15294.0A very poor display from the full-back, who was beaten at will by Ronaldo and Kaka down the left. Dispossessed Cristiano once early on, but even that looked like a foul and he didn't do anything right after that.Vladimir Weiss21225.0A few flashes of inspiration as he buzzed around the Madrid box, but was starved of possession and wasteful when he did have the ball.Coutinho21175.0One curling shot from outside the box which produced an excellent save from Casillas and an impressive flick over Carvalho's head. But little else. Replaced at the interval.• SubstitutionsJordi Amat5155.0Came on for the injured Raul Rodriguez but his introduction didn't really improve Espanyol.Raúl Baena7134.5Came on to offer more protection but didn't make much difference.Sergio García de la Fuente8135.5Held up the ball well after coming on as a substitute at the break, but missed one good chance when his volley was off target and was rarely seen after that.Real Madrid CF5 vs 0Espanyol
PlayedMarch 4, 2012 8:30 PM GMT
Estadio Santiago Bernabéu — Madrid
Referee: José Antonio Teixeira Vitienes
Attendance: 7800023′ Cristiano Ronaldo 38′ Sami Khedira 47′ Gonzalo Higuaín 66′ Kaká 78′ Gonzalo Higuaín
